For many husbands and wives, simply thinking about SI (spiritual intimacy) will start beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads.  The next thing you know they’re wiping the palms of their hands on the sides of their jeans, experiencing heart palpitations, tightness in the chest, and gastrointestinal distress.  Oh no, we need to experience this kind of intimacy together to have a better marriage?  

Absolutely!  I want to encourage you to keep giving SI a try in different venues.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy SI with my husband is through music.  I’ve shared before that music is turned on everywhere in our home - even the bathroom.  It’s the reason we were lead to start GrowthtracRadio.com a little over a year ago.  It’s a 24-7 streaming radio station with adult contemporary Christian music that includes marriage programming.  Today, there are over 10,000 streams a month.

I’ve discovered one of the good gifts we receive is the opportunity to listen to and review new CD’s that will be released before they are available for sale to the public.  I have two recent favorites I would like to recommend.

Two weeks ago, my husband and I were on our way to church in a strange mood that bordered on somberness and excitement.  We had some dear friends coming to tell their story of hope, faith, questions, struggle, and illness.  The wife has been fighting brain cancer for nine years.  It just so happens we popped a new CD into the player by Steven Curtis Chapman called Beauty Will Rise.  From the first song to the last we rode a roller coaster of emotions as SCC pours out the anguish, the questions, and the trust he has in God after the death of his daughter, Maria.  I wish I had an unlimited bank account, as I would purchase this CD for all my family and friends.  It’s that good.  It will be released November 3rd.

There is a second amazing CD by Phil Wickham that will be released November 17th called Heaven & Earth.  This album captures your heart from the opening song called Eden to the last song.  I think I hit replay five times on Eden because it depicts the wonder of living in community with God every moment of the day.  We listened to this album continually for an entire Sunday.

Want to connect spiritually with your spouse without breaking a sweat?

Try a little music.

My husband and I were given a gift of free tickets to see Chris Tomlin and Israel Houghton last night.  We arrived in the middle of torrential rains that turned into six inches of snow by morning.   Three hours of worship music last night somehow made the snow look beautiful this morning.

Ten thousand voices singing praises to God at the Sears Centre outside Chicago was wonderful. Worship with this many friends has a way of lifting a behind out of a seat, starts the toes a tapping, and moves the arms from resting next to the hips to swaying above the head.  Perhaps, it is a small glimpse of what heaven will be like.

We first saw Chris Tomlin eight years ago at the church we attended when The Noise We Make album was released. Growthtrac interviewed him in 2004 right before the Arriving album was released.

http://www.growthtrac.com/artman/publish/a-conversation-with-chris-tomlin-278.php

It has been a journey to watch God use this man and the very special gift he has been given. His energy and love of God is contagious. He has matured in his lyrics, his love of God, his view of the world, and has a few more smile lines around the eyes.

One of the most moving moments is when Chris shared the very recent loss of his grandfather. The funeral is tomorrow.  (Please lift the Tomlin family up in prayer.)  His grandfather loved the song, I Will Rise, and asked Chris to sing it at his funeral.  Last night he sang the song with such passion, that you felt like you were standing there with his grandpa praising God in heaven.  It was a beautiful and striking moment of sorrow and praise wrapped into one.

I don’t know about you, but an hour of worship on Sunday morning isn’t enough to fill my soul for the week - I need more.   Consider the music that fills your home, your car, and your office throughout the week.  Does it pull your heart closer to God in worship, or further away?

Jesus understood it when he said in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”  

I have been listening to two new CD’s this week that came across my desk.

One of them is by a band called JJ Weeks Band.  It’s not often that I pick up a CD and like almost every song.  This one, I do - except for the last song.  I’m not sure why they threw the last song into the mix, as it seems completely out of place with their sound.

I am impressed by their lyrics - especially on the first two tracks which is a song called Save Us and the second song is Far Away.  This band’s love for God definitely shines through.

The second CD I listened to is the soundtrack for Billy, The Early Years, which is from the new movie coming out about Billy Graham.  You have to have a deep appreciation for country music with this album.  While, I appreciate country music, and have a few favorites, I’m not a diehard fan.  Although, the band 33 Miles, is quickly making me a convert.

Back to the soundtrack from the movie -  I have two favorites on this album, and the rest I can leave behind.  Track #2 by Sarah Evans is called Low and Track #4 by China Edelman is called Shelter Me.   I replayed both songs on the way to a funeral Friday morning.  Shelter Me rang out as I prayed for my friend and the loss of his father.  God does shelter us from life’s storms and the lyrics to this song reach out with this message.

Music speaks to my soul, and I consider it a form of prayer each day.  My husband and I often listen to new CD’s in the car together, and it helps connect our hearts.

Many of my new readers may not know that Growthtrac.com launched Growth Radio in February 2008.   Check it out at Growthtrac Radio.

Our passion is to have great Christian music with marriage only content.  A place for your marriage to grow through music .  We want to bring a great mix of various new and old Christian artists to the play lists.   I am involved in many of the music picks. My husband and I do not always see eye-to-eye, as we do have different musical tastes, but I see that as sharing many of the differences we have in our marriage.

Your input would be appreciated.  Let me know which songs speak to your heart and your marriage.

I heard a song this past weekend by Casting Crowns from their Altar and The Door Album called Slow Fade. The lyrics have churned through my thoughts the past several days with a sense of deep sadness. I have been compelled to pray for the marriages of many people I know. A small portion of the lyrics are:

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray
And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

The words ring very true in the world we live in. There is so much on our daily to-do list that pulls us away from time with God.

God becomes a slow fade.

We find there is little time for quietness with our spouse. Seldom is there time to sit, talk and listen. Time to laugh and remember.

Our love becomes a slow fade.

Loneliness and frustration fills our thoughts - we deserve more. Boundaries are crossed when someone of the opposite sex compliments us. Suddenly, we are filled with a rush of excitement that someone noticed us, and we are intrigued by their attention. What was once black and white, turns to gray.

Our vows become a slow fade.

People do not leave their marriages and their families overnight. The desire, the enticement, the pulling away has been occurring in their hearts for a long time.

It is a slow fade.

I encourage you to keep your heart closely connected to God. Do not let your marriage and your family do a slow fade.

Choices are made.

I am a long time admirer of the God-given talent of Chris Tomlin going back to his early days with Passion.  Watching God use this gifted songwriter has been a privilege. I have so enjoyed the music from his 2006 RIAA Gold-certified record, See the Morning, I couldn’t possibly imagine deeper inspiration and worship with a new album. I am amazed again.

I had an opportunity to listen to his latest album, with my husband on the way to church last week. It will be released September 2, 2008.

We had the windows rolled down in the car and the volume at top decibel levels, worshiping God all the way to church. Anyone greeting us when we walked in for service probably wondered what kind of happy pills we took that morning.

I loved every song on this album, but my absolute favorites were “God of This City” and “Sing, Sing, Sing”. The next closest favorite is the one being played on radio right now called, “Jesus, Messiah”.

On the back cover it says — We need to introduce ourselves to love again.

Tomlin explains, “With each new record, I continue to strive to create songs that will help people voice their worship to God. I hold this as a great responsibility when I begin to think about what the overall recording will look like. Worship is a massive word with a very broad scope, but in the end, it is very simple. It is love! It’s our response in love to our great God who loved us first.”

“Hopefully these songs will renew in some way or stir up again your love for God and His people.”

No doubt — they will.

I love to listen to music with my husband.  It binds us when words are absent and prayer is difficult.  It’s another form of creating intimacy together.

My desire for those visiting this blog is to encourage you to spend time with your spouse listening to soul-filling music together.

There’s a new album by Brandon Heath I had an opportunity to listen to this past week.

One song in particular spoke strongly to me — It’s “Give Me Your Eyes”,  to be released August 19th. It has been one of those songs where I’ve hit replay over and over again.  I love the message of asking God for his help to see the people around you and learn to love them through “his eyes.”

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